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17776

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Official "Virtual Console Mondays" Thread

« on: July 26, 2007, 04:32:10 AM »

Does SMRPG have the badges? I absolutely love the badges in the Paper Mario series and there's no way SMRPG is going to make it look like garbage if it doesn't even have the badges. (That's not saying it won't be great, but it can't be up to that level without the badges, if it's even possible at all)

17777

Nintendo Gaming / RE: 8 Biggest Wii games of 07

« on: July 26, 2007, 12:33:09 AM »

1. Super Mario Galaxy

I don't care if it makes me a commie, Galaxy is shaping up to be Game of the Year. The more I see the more I love, the return of costume powerups is great (fingers crossed for at least a cameo for the Tanooki suit). The gravity mechanic is interesting and fresh, they seem to have implemented one of the best parts of Sunshine: the straightforward get-to-the-goal warp zone levels, and to top it off looks spectacular and hopefully will shut up some people saying the Wii can't do good graphics (I know it won't, but I can dream).

2. Super Smash Bros. Brawl

While I don't think it's possible for the game to live up to the endless supply of hype, I do think it's going to be amazingly good and significantly better than the greatness that was Melee. The daily updates may not all be good, but the ones that are (like today's, I was just thinking the other day that it would be cool if you could damage someone by jumping on them like in the Mario games and here it is in a way that makes gameplay sense. I suppose I should make another wish and see if it comes true. How about a Mushroom Kingdom III in the vein of Mushroom Kingdom II in Brawl; desgined after Super Mario 3 with various enemies from that game).

3. Battalion Wars II

I had always meant to pick up the original, but before I did I saw the announcement for a Wii sequel and decided to wait. Several key improvements, such as naval units, the Wii remote controls being naturally better for certain strategy elements, and, here's the big one, online multiplayer. Being the second (and hopefully not last) first-party Wii game this year with Wi-Fi play (we shall never speak of Pokemon Battle Revolution again, and Strikers isn't on my list because it comes out in less than a week, I already have it pre-ordered and paid for).

4. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

The controls seem perfect in every preview I've read. That, along with what sounds like an epic and immersive story has me sold (literally, I just put down a preorder last night).

5. Guitar Hero III

I played the first two at a friend's house and knew immediately I needed the game. I would have bought it for the PS2, but then they announced this for the Wii so I put it off.

6. Geometry Wars: Galaxies

I've heard so much about how great the XBLA game is, and this heavily expanded version and it's Wii-specific controls excite me.

7. Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles

I just got RE4 and I absolutely love it. I almost passed it up completely as I wasn't a fan of the series, then everyone constantly calling it one of the best games ever made me try it. I'm glad I did, the game is amazing. I did not expect to like it anywhere close to how much I like it. I couldn't possibly play it on the GC, my first experience was with the Wii version and it has spoiled me in a way that I don't think I could aim with an analog stick again. Umbrella Chronicles will let me learn the backstory, and I've been itching for a light gun game. I don't know if it will work well with the Zapper, but I'll definitely shell out the $20 for the thing as long as the bundled game is a new Duck Hunt, preferably with the original included.

8. MySims

I am not ashamed to admit that I enjoy the PC Sims games, but most console offerings so far haven't been very good (though I really enjoyed The Urbz on the DS). This game is being built for the Wii, and looks good. Yeah, it's an Animal Crossing ripoff, but they chose a good game to ripoff, and Nintendo isn't giving us AC til next year, and it does one important (at least to me) thing that Animal Crossing doesn't: it lets the player actually build buildings. In fact it encourages and sometimes requires this, and the interface for it seems really interesting, something Nintendo should return the favor and rip off from EA for the Wii AC.

Honorable Mentions:

Fire Emblem, which would be on the list if I didn't have the GBA ones that I want to beat at least one of before I get the Wii one

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, which could be really good if Sega doesn't screw it up like they always do (at least we know Miyamoto has some role in it, overseeing and the like), motion controls can make these kinds of things more fun than button mashing ever could and if they do the hinted-at 1:1 fencing and it works its an instant must-buy

The Simpsons Game, I'm a huge fan of the series, and what I've read about the game suggests that it is genuinely funny with good writing; they didn't let the press play it at E3 so I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much

Space Station Tycoon, I love the genre, and the quirky sense of humor seems like it would make a fun game

LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, I always meant to play these the first time around, and this looks to save me some money by putting them both in one

Madden NFL 08, Madden 07 was in my opinion the best example of Wii Controls at launch. EA seems to actually be trying with this, and has promised to tighten up the controls even more, add some Wii-specific modes, and it will be the first third-party online game for the Wii

17778

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Official Endless Ocean (aka Forever Blue) thread

« on: July 25, 2007, 11:52:38 PM »

I didn't much care for Star Fox Adventures, too much of a collectathon, and Doshin wasn't released outside of Japan, so it doesn't really count. Animal Crossing isn't exactly traditional/hardcore; I absolutely love the game, but it doesn't fit with what I'm going for here. Melee was December 2001, as well, so Brawl goes in with BW and FE as games that had no equivalent in 02. Prime, I'll give you; I think Corruption will be better but once you get past a certain point of greatness it doesn't really matter. And, while I seem to be one of the few remaining people who really enjoyed Sunshine, I think Galaxy is going to be ten times as good as it was.

Even with all your games, it would have been only a little better than what we are getting this year. I forgot to mention Strikers, the first proper online game for the Wii as well, and I wasn't even counting Super Paper Mario from earlier in the year. But for what I'm saying it doesn't really matter; I'm just fed up with all these people who think the world is coming to an end because Nintendo is broadening their target market. We are getting one of the best years ever in terms of first-party development and yet people persist in saying that Nintendo has completely changed and they don't care about traditional/hardcore games anymore.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE: Star Trek coming to Wii? According to Gamefly ,yes yes it is.

« on: July 25, 2007, 11:01:05 PM »

This is amazing news. I loved Tactical Assault on the DS, and now since I got Parallels 3 I have gotten around to playing some older Trek games that I never had the chance to play due to my Mac using (right now it's Starfleet Command II, and I hope to soon dive into Bridge Commander.

therat: Most Trek games tend to be simulations of starship combat, though if you're seeking something more in line with the show a lot of the old graphic adventures (such as the Star Trek 25th anniversary game) played very similarly to the show, and, although as noted above I haven't played it yet, from what I understand Bridge Commander wasn't all combat and gave you missions that were more like an episode of one of the shows.

There is a very good chance that if we do get a Star Trek game for the Wii it will be a (possibly enhanced somewhat) port of Star Trek Encounters, released earlier this year for the PS2, which after a quick check of GameRankings I notice averaged 54% with sub-four scores from a lot of the major sites. Although since I loved TA and that didn't average much better than that and the fact that I probably couldn't stop myself from buying any Star Trek game that came to a console I play regularly, I'll probably buy it anyway.

A suggestion for a future Wii Trek game: A new Elite Force with Metroid Prime 3 style controls.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE: Official Endless Ocean (aka Forever Blue) thread

« on: July 25, 2007, 10:46:12 PM »

Looks like Nintendo's taking the whole "Blue Ocean" strategy a bit literally, eh?

Sorry, I had to get that out.

The graphics are another example, alongside Mario, Metroid, and a few others, that the lack of graphical quality in Wii games is not nearly as much about the console's hardware capabilities as it is the developers' lack of effort. Hopefully these will raise the bar for the future.

In any other year I would seriously look at this, but I have way too many other things I need to buy (anyone who says Nintendo doesn't care about traditional, hardcore games doesn't know what they're talking about; I dare you to find one year in the past decade where Nintendo has had a better traditional lineup than Metroid Prime 3, Battalion Wars II, Fire Emblem, Super Mario Galaxy, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl). This is definitely something to look for in the occasional lulls in the release schedule that pop up.

17781

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Official "Virtual Console Mondays" Thread

« on: July 25, 2007, 10:29:57 PM »

You'll get the thing that lets you do the timed attacks pretty quickly, before you get into anything close to serious combat.

I played through this when it came out, I played Thousand Year Door, I'm in the middle of Super Paper Mario (very different game, but excellent concept and really cool mix of platforming and role playing with just the right amount of creative puzzles), and now I'm back playing the original, and absolutely loving it. Gamespot has it right (that happens once in a while, you know) when they say it's a steal at $10. I never played Super Mario RPG (I didn't have a SNES, I had  a Genesis, and by the time I decided to buy a new console the N64 was out), but everyone is always screaming about how amazing it is, so I can't wait for fork over eight dollars for that.

17782

TalkBack / RE: Neves Coming to DS

« on: July 25, 2007, 10:17:34 PM »

Another game to go with Picross, Crosswords, Sudoku, the Brain Ages, and Big Brain Academy to make sure my mind is in tip-top shape. I love it.

I played with these when I was a kid and loved them, and as long as they don't screw it up I will definitely pick this one up (that is to say if I can afford it after the two dozen other games I need to get between now and the end of the year).

Ooh, I also just noticed it's being published by Atlus, my new favorite semi-obscure publisher (because of Etrian Odyssey, among others).

17783

TalkBack / RE: WiiWare - The Official Announcement

« on: June 27, 2007, 05:05:33 AM »

I hope by then Nintendo will have some kind of way to add to the available memory for the Wii. I know I'm in the minority at this point, but I've nearly filled the built-in memory with my VC purchases. In another six months I think a lot more people will have reached that point. I'm assuming all it would take is a firmware update to allow the Wii to play things directly off an SD card or perhaps a USB flash drive plugged into the back. They would also need to allow for more than 4 pages of channels, or possibly a way to organize VC games into individual sets accessible through single channels to open up some space.

At my current state I have ~150 free blocks and 8 open channels, and that's after getting rid of a few things. I really don't understand why Nintendo hasn't done the presumably simple firmware update, as the way it's set up the only thing I can do with the extra space is fill it with things I buy from them.

Come on Nintendo, I want to give you money. Just allow me the space to keep the stuff I buy.

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TalkBack / RE: Nintendo Surpasses Sony in Market Value

« on: June 26, 2007, 09:53:12 AM »

Nint-yen-do

[KDR_11k]

17785

TalkBack / RE:Virtual Console Fridays: June 22, 2007

« on: June 22, 2007, 12:33:18 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: KDR_11k

Quote
Originally posted by: nintendogamecube86
I wouldn't call Mega Man a big game, especially considering how much better Mega Man 2 is.

Ugh, the backlog of games Europe now has that we don't have in North America is ridiculous:
Donkey Kong Jr. Math (NES)
Yoshi (NES)
Mach Rider (NES)
Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)
Adventures of Lolo (NES)
Balloon Fight (NES)
Mega Man (NES)
F-Zero X (N64)
Vectorman (GEN)
China Warrior (TG16)

At a rate of 3 games per week,  it would take 4 weeks just to get through the backlog (and that's assuming we get no other games).

Considering America hit the 100 VC games mark a week or two earlier than Europe there's got to be a similar sized list of games the US has and we don't.

Games out on the US VC that haven't come out in Europe:

Bravoman (TG16)
Elavator Action (NES)
Golden Axe 2 (GEN)
Gradius 3 (SNES)
Legend of Kage (NES)
Lode Runner (NES)
Milon's Secret Castle (NES)
Ninja Gaiden (NES)
Ordyne (TG16)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV (SNES)
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (GEN)
Tecmo Bowl (NES)

Europe has two fewer titles than the US, but, at least in my opinion, a better selection. F-Zero X is likely to hit in the US this coming Monday, but then again I said the same last week after it came out in Australia and Europe. Vectorman stings as it was on Sega's list of games to be released in March and I've been waiting for it since then. Balloon Fight is a recent European release, so hopefully it will come out here soon. And, although being the worst in the series in my opinion, Super Mario Bros. 2 is a solid game, and if nothing else, opens the door for the finest in the series, Super Mario Bros. 3.

Also, the three major American exclusives the way I see it are Ninja Gaiden, Sonic 2, and Tecmo Bowl, and Sonic 2 can be had in Mega Collection and Tecmo Bowl, being an American football game, may never come to Europe and the Europeans probably wouldn't care.

17786

TalkBack / RE: Florida Concerned About Manhunt 2 on Wii

« on: June 06, 2007, 09:34:08 AM »

There isn't a consequence, at least not a legal one.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not illegal to sell someone under the age of 17 a ticket to an R rated movie, an R rated DVD, or an M rated game. Such a law would be unconstitutional, which is why all of Thompson's anti-game legislation has been struck down. Most theaters and stores have policies not to sell such things to said people, but such policies are strictly voluntary and they couldn't be fined or imprisoned if they did sell the minors the offending item.

That being said, what kids have $50 in cash plus transportation to and from the store without parental involvement? Parents need to pay attention to what their kids are playing and stop trying to get the government to do their job for them.

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TalkBack / RE: Zelda II Will Be 100th VC Game in N. America

« on: June 01, 2007, 08:00:10 AM »

Well according to Wikipedia there are currently 96 games available on the NA Virtual Console, which means we are getting at least 4 releases Monday. I wouldn't put it past Nintendo to say Zelda II is #100 while 97, 98, and 99 are big things too.

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TalkBack / RE: Virtual Console Mondays: May 21, 2007

« on: May 27, 2007, 02:09:26 AM »

Since DKC and Streets of Rage were released on the VC simultaneously, and so were DKC2 and Streets of Rage 2, logically we will see the conclusions to both series on the same day as well.

[Ian Sane]

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TalkBack / RE:Virtual Console Mondays: May 14, 2007

« on: May 15, 2007, 12:08:52 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
"To me, having a classic arcade diversion such as Pac Man or (especially) Galaga available immediately upon booting up the console without worrying about having the right disc is worth the $5."

Ever notice how as improvements in technology are made people will complain that something they used to have to do regularly is a huge hassle?  Just yesterday at work someone was talking about some parents at his kid's school complaining about a cellphone ban because then they can't phone their kids in class to check up on them even though those very parents didn't have cellphones when they were kids and somehow they made it to adulthood along with, well, everyone who graduated high school in the 20th century.

These complaints of having to put discs in machines and having to store discs in one's house or find the correct disc fall into that category.  Worrying about having the right disc?  What the hell?  Oh no it took me half a second to look at the disc!  What a drag!  Even a year ago no one complained about having to use physical media to load a game and now because of the VC that's considered a hassle.  I can understand that keeping an old console connected to the TV can be a hassle but in many cases VC titles are available for cheap in compilations for the Gamecube.  In other words these games are playable on the Wii so no other consoles need to be hooked up.  It's really no different than, you know, actual Wii games.

Plus eventually VC enthusiasts are going to run out of space to store their games and sometimes need to redownload a game to play it which sounds considerably more time consuming then putting a disc in a machine.

It wasn't really a complaint about the old way, I was just saying it's very convenient to have it right there. Just because it's something that hasn't been around for a while and is something that gamers have done without for the entire history of gaming doesn't mean it's not a nice feature.  

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TalkBack / RE: Virtual Console Mondays: May 14, 2007

« on: May 15, 2007, 10:05:22 AM »

If Pac Man gets the gray X because it's available in another format for a better value, why didn't Galaga, released on the VC a few weeks ago, get the same treatment? Galaga is available in nearly as many compilations, including both Namco Museums in the link given in this article.

To me, having a classic arcade diversion such as Pac Man or (especially) Galaga available immediately upon booting up the console without worrying about having the right disc is worth the $5.